CRIMINALS could be forced to spend up to 16 hours a day in their homes under tough new curfew laws being considered by the justice ministry.

Under proposals to beef up community sentences, announced today, judges will have more powers to keep criminals off the streets at certain times.

Prisons minister Crispin Blunt said extending the maximum curfew from 12 to 16 hours, and enabling it to be imposed for up to a year instead of six months, will “keep offenders off the streets for longer”.

Mr Blunt said it would also “keep them away from ­situations that could land them in trouble again”.

The plans are part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, which is also seeking to scrap indeterminate public protection sentences, which were brought in by Labour.

The sentences meant those considered a danger to the public could be kept behind bars for ever.

A new charge of aggravated knife possession, with a mandatory prison sentence of at least six months, will also be part of the proposals.